“None of these are irrelevant, except to the narrow-minded and the careless. They are certainly not irrelevant to Severn. Have you some need to question Teremaine?”
“Is he one of yours?”
“Please. I am already vexed with your interruptions; descend to insults and Private Handred will understand why you feel compelled to offer me a semblance of obedience. I have chosen not to take offense at your actions today because he is a Wolf, and he might feel it his duty to come to your aid.”
“I am his partner,” Severn said quietly. “But mortal Wolves die frequently. It is the loss of Elluvian himself that will cause complications for you; the Emperor favors him.”
“I am certain the Emperor himself wonders why from time to time.”
“It would then be the Emperor’s prerogative to dismiss him. If you have information that might lead us to Teremaine—and lead us to an understanding of the motivations behind the events we investigate—we would be grateful.”
She turned from Elluvian to Severn, her brows gathered as if the words themselves were familiar to her, and yet could not be placed.
Elluvian felt no need to explain to Severn that the wordgratitudehad a different weight among the Barrani than it did among mortals, in part because he suspected that Severn already understood this.
“Very well. I shall offer you a warning. You believe that An’Sennarin has a use for, or has used, Teremaine in the past. In my considered opinion this is completely, irrevocably untrue. An’Sennarin’s power at court is a far cry from the power his predecessor once wielded. Were it not, it is my belief Teremaine would already be beyond your reach.
“Teremaine will be beyond your reach soon. It is known that the Wolves hunt him now.”
“It is not Teremaine we hunt,” Elluvian said.
“That is unfortunate—for Teremaine. Regardless, Teremaine now has nothing to do with the line Sennarin. Nor will his unfortunate death have much to do with Sennarin; he is much involved with the mortals, their caste court, and the Lords of the High Court. He knows too much. He has been far too careful to use any of that knowledge against those to whom it might be costly. But where the Wolves are involved, where the Emperor is involved, the Tha’alani are also involved.”
“They are forbidden, by Imperial Law, to interact with the Barrani in that fashion.”
“Exceptions can be made at the discretion of the Emperor.”
“The Emperor,” Severn said, an edge in his voice that had not been present at any other time within the High Halls, “would make no exception in the case of this particular Barrani. Any information obtained should Teremaine be lawfully detained would be gathered without the Tha’alani. Even if the Imperial Service desired the expertise of the Tha’alani in this specific case, they would require a permission that would never be granted.”
“You seem certain.”
“I am certain.”
“Very well. Elluvian has not disagreed with either of us; I perceive that even he does not feel as you feel. Regardless, it is not your opinion, or mine, that will be the deciding factor. I am willing to accept what you say as truth. You will not find another Barrani Lord who will do so. Teremaine’s survival does not depend on my belief; he is not a man I would entrust with any task, no matter how trivial.
“It will be dependent on the beliefs of those who have condescended to purchase his services.” She turned to Elluvian. “You have implied that An’Sennarin is at the heart of this investigation. Consider what you now do with care, Elluvian. He is a Lord of the High Court.” She bowed her head for a moment, and then said, “And he has won my personal support.”
Elluvian said nothing to Severn until they were well quit of the High Halls. Not just the building itself, but the grounds upon which that building, and its few outbuildings, sat. He did not speak a word until they were once again accosted by the noise, the smell, and the overpopulation of the midday market streets.
“I do not know what game she is playing,” he said, as if the walk to this point had interrupted nothing. “But it is never wise to involve oneself in the games An’Tellarus controls.”
“Does she control this one?”
Elluvian frowned. He was not certain what he had expected Severn to say, but it wasn’t this. An’Tellarus had the ability to knock him slightly off balance in the best of circumstances.
“She controls some part of it.”
“Do you think she’s the hand behind An’Sennarin?”
After a pause to consider things from Severn’s point of view—a much narrower field of experience—Elluvian said, “It is not impossible, but...no. Itisunusual.”
“How?”
“Considering his meteoric rise to power, it is no surprise he has allies; the greater surprise would be that he has none. But it is not An’Tellarus’s way to support people who are driven by ambition, or rather, that style of ambition.”
“You’ve said she’s powerful.”
Elluvian nodded. “But so, too, An’Mellarionne, and she would never support him, although on the surface Mellarionne as a line offers far greater advantage to her than Sennarin. Sennarin is so new, the greater weight of the power of such an alliance would be almost entirely An’Tellarus. He has nothing to offer.”